4/13/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Softball team will look to get back to some consistent winning, when they play a pair of non-region match-ups in the coming days. On Wednesday, April 13^th, the Falcons will take I-81 south to Hazleton to take on the Nittany Lions from Penn State Hazleton in doubleheader action. Then, on Thursday, April 14^th, the Falcons will play host to the Monroe College Mustangs in a doubleheader at Scranton High's softball field.
 
The games on Wednesday are set for 2:00pm and 4:00pm ET, respectively, while the doubleheader against Monroe is scheduled for 4:00pm and 6:00pm ET. There will be a video livestream available for the home doubleheader on Thursday, via the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.
 
About the Falcons
Lackawanna College (13-12) was last in action this past Sunday, when the Falcons split a doubleheader with Region XIX Division III opponent Brookdale CC. The Jersey Blues, the #7 team in the NJCAA DIII rankings, came in on a winning streak, but the Falcons showed their mettle right away, winning the first game 9-1 in five innings. Brookdale would rebound and show their strength, winning game two by a 11-2 final in six innings. Read the recap HERE.
 
On the year, the Falcons are hitting .326 as a team, and have a combined .887 OPS. Lackawanna College has 81 total extra base hits already this year, 57 of which have been doubles. The Falcons are slugging .490 on the year, and have a .397 OBP, drawing 75 walks and 13 HBPs on the season. The Falcons have stolen 39 total bases on the year, and have driven in 142 of their 161 runs scored so far this year. Lackawanna is averaging around six-and-a-half runs per ballgame.  
 
In the circle, the Falcons have a team ERA of 4.27. Through 160.2 innings, Lackawanna has given up 227 hits and 149 runs, 98 earned, and have struck out 111 batters, while walking 72. Opponents are hitting .311 against the Falcons this year. Lackawanna has turned ten double plays defensively, but the Falcons have committed 60 errors in 25 games so far this season.
 
Emma McNally is the team-leader so far this year, hitting .440 on the season. McNally has a team-high OPS of 1.223, and leads the Falcons in runs scored (23), hits (37), doubles (10), extra base hits (16), homeruns (4), RBIs (27), total bases (63), slugging (.750), and OBP (.473). McNally has five stolen bases this year, and has drawn seven walks, tied for fourth on the squad. McNally has eleven multi-hit games this season, and is currently on a 14-game hitting streak. McNally was a combined 2-for-6, both singles, and one run scored in the two games against Brookdale. She's gone six straight games without driving in a run.
 
Skylynn Gilligan is second on the team with an even .400 batting average this year. Gilligan is tied for second on the team with 30 hits, and has a .465 OBP, good for third on the team. Gilligan is slugging at .533 this season, and her 40 total bases rank her third on the squad. After going 1-for-12 in her first four games, Gilligan had 19-game hitting streak, including seven multi-hit games, going into the weekend with Brookdale. She's third on the team with 17 RBIs on the year, and is fifth on the squad with seven doubles. Gilligan has seven multi-hit games on the season, but had her hitting streak snapped against Brookdale, going 0-for-6 in the two combined games against the Jersey Blues.  
 
Jennifer Wolak is third on the Falcons with a .372 batting average, and an OPS of 1.006, ranking her fourth on the squad. She has 16 hits in her 21 appearances, and has a .471 OBP, good for second on the team. She's scored ten runs, and has five doubles to drive in eleven RBIs this year. Wolak was an impressive 4-for-5 with five RBIs, two runs scored, and a pair of doubles in the two games against Monroe. She went 3-for-3 in the second game, helping her own cause, as she was also the main pitcher against the Mustangs. Wolak has five multi-hit games this season, including game one against Brookdale, where she was 2-for-3 with three runs scored. In game two against the Jersey Blues, she was lifted for a pinch hitter, after going 0-for-1.
 
Catarena Sommers is hitting .370 overall on the year, good for fourth on the squad. Sommers is tied for second on the squad with Gilligan with 30 total hits, and has a .1.015 OPS. Catarena has 13 extra base hits, good for second on the team, along with 21 RBIs on the year, putting her second on the Falcons. Her 48 total bases also have her ranked second on the squad. Sommers is hitting .485 in her last ten games, with six multi-hit games over that span. In those ten games, she's scored eleven runs, driven in ten, and hit six doubles and one triple. Sommers went 3-for-6 with two runs scored, an RBI, and a double and triple in the two games against Brookdale.  
 
Madison McVicar is fifth on the team with a .338 batting average, and has a .958 OPS so far this season. McVicar is second on the squad in runs scored (22), and has a .444 OBP on the year. She's fourth on the team with 25 hits so far this year, and leads the Falcons in walks with 13. McVicar has eight multi-hit games this season, and went 1-for-5 in the two games against Brookdale this past weekend.
 
Savannah Glover has a .333 batting average on the year. Her .603 slugging percentage has her ranked second on the team, and she's second on the Falcons with three homeruns this year. Glover's 17 runs scored on the season has her ranked fifth on the team, and she's third on the team with six steals this year. Glover has six multi-hit games, including a stretch where she had three in a row, so far this season. Savannah was a combined 1-for-5 against Brookdale this past weekend.    
 
Meghan Fritz has a .308 batting average, and has collected 24 hits on the year, good for fifth on the team this year. Fritz has scored 19 runs this season, good for third on the Falcons, and is second on the team in stolen bases this year, with seven swipes. Fritz has eleven extra base hits on the year, including nine doubles, tied for third on the team. Fritz has seven multi-hit games this year, and was a combined 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs against Brookdale in two games.    
 
Fritz is also one of the main starters in the pitcher's circle for Lackawanna, with nine starts in ten appearances for the Falcons. She has a 3-6 record on the year, and has pitched in 55.2 innings, giving up 79 hits and 58 runs, just 30 earned, while striking out 41 batters, good for second on the squad. Opponents are hitting .307 against Fritz this year. Fritz has an ERA of 3.77, good for second on the team. She had a stellar relief appearance against SUNY Corning, going 6.2 innings and only giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out eleven batters. Fritz has hit a rough stretch, getting tagged with the loss in her last three outings. She surrendered seven runs, just one earned, on seven hits in four innings of work in her last game, the second game against Brookdale, which the Jersey Blues went on to win 11-2.
 
MacKayla Quick has made ten starts in eleven appearances so far this year. She's 5-5 on the year, with a team-best 3.42 ERA. Quick, in 57.1 innings pitched, has given up 41 runs, 28 earned, on 68 hits, with a team-best 49 strikeouts and a team-high 31 walks. Opponents have hit six homeruns against Quick, and are hitting .282 on the year. MacKayla had a great outing in her last game, going five innings against Brookdale in game one of the doubleheader, giving up just one run on four hits and striking out three to get the win for the Falcons.
 
Tess Ruschman has appeared in six games, with four starts, and is 2-1 overall this year, with a 6.65 ERA. Ruschman has also earned a save this year, in the win over SUNY Corning earlier this year. Ruschman, in her 20 innings of work, has surrendered 20 runs, 19 earned, on 37 hits, while striking out six and walking five. In her last start, Tess was chased after two innings of work against Monroe, giving up seven runs and eight hits in a game the Falcons would rally to win, 13-8.    
 
Stephanie Kibbe has seen action in eight games this year, with just one start, but has a 2-0 record with a 4.40 ERA this season. Kibbe, in 14.1 innings of work, has given up 15 runs, nine earned, on 28 hits. She has seven strikeouts and eight walks on the year. Opponents are hitting .378 against Kibbe this season. She came on in relief of Fritz in game two against Brookdale on Saturday, giving up four runs, two earned, on five hits, in two innings of relief work.
 
Jeff Pittsman is in his eleventh season at the helm of the Falcons program. After some early growing pains when he took over in 2012, coach Pitt overhauled the Falcons program, turning it into a Region XIX contender year-in, and year-out. The Falcons had four straight seasons of 20+ wins, starting in 2016, and might have had another if not for the pandemic shuttering the 2020 season early. Pittsman is a two-time EPAC Coach of the Year, and has been a fixture in local softball circles for year. An NEPA native and Mid Valley HS graduate, Pittsman began his coaching career in football with the Mid Valley program, and other various schools around the area, before transitioning into coaching softball at the travel-team level. Eventually, his credentials helped him land the job with Lackawanna College, where he took over a team with barely enough players to safely compete, and steadily built the program into a winner.
 
About PSU Hazleton
The Nittany Lions come into Wednesday's contests with a 5-9 overall record, fresh off a doubleheader sweep on Tuesday over SUNY Delhi. In game one, the Nittany Lions scored four in the first to take a commanding lead, then added five runs late to win it 9-1 in six innings. Game two went even quicker, as the Nittany Lions scored six runs in the first two innings, and managed a run in all five innings of the game, enacting the sportsmanship rule against with an 11-3 victory in five innings. The match-up with Lackawanna College represent the last pair of non-conference games left on the schedule for the Nittany Lions.
 
Hazleton is hitting at .310 as a team so far this season, with a combined OPS of .800. The Nittany Lions are averaging around 4.6 runs per game, and have 37 combined extra base hits on the year, including 27 doubles and six homeruns. As a team, Hazleton is slugging at .449, and have an OBP of .351, and have stolen 22 bases on the year. Penn State has 66 strikeouts as a team, and has drawn 23 walks.
 
In the pitching circle, the Nittany Lions have a combined ERA of 6.05 on the year, and opponents have scored over ten runs against PSU Hazleton on four separate occasions. In 83.1 combined innings, Penn State has given up 98 runs, 72 earned, on 134 hits, striking out 52 batters and walking 46 so far this season. The Nittany Lions have turned three double plays on the season, while committing 36 errors.  
 
Ashley Wilson is the team leader for the Nittany Lions at the plate, hitting .541 on the year, with 20 total team hits, both bests on the squad. Wilson also leads the team in extra base hits (9), doubles (7), RBIs (16), OPS (1.463), OBP (.571), and slugging (.892). Wilson is tied for the team-high with two homers on the year, and has scored six runs so far in her 13 games. Wilson has recorded a hit in 12 straight games, and has five multi-hit games this year. She was a combined 5-for-6 with two runs scored, five RBIs, three doubles, and a homer against SUNY Delhi.
 
Linsey Fisk is second on the team with 15 total hits this year, and has a .341 batting average. Fisk has scored eight runs this season, good for third on the Nittany Lions, and has hit four doubles and two homeruns for ten RBIs, second on the team. Fisk has a .938 OPS, and is slugging at .568, good for third on the team. Fisk has five multi-hit games this season, including the pair against SUNY Delhi, where she was a combined 4-for-7 with four RBIs, three runs scored, two doubles, and a homer.  
 
Tori Rabuck's .412 batting average is second on the team, and she's also second on the squad with a 1.164 OPS on the year. Rabuck leads the Nittany Lions in runs scored (12), and is third on the team in total hits (14). She's got eight extra base knocks, good for second on the team, including six doubles on the year. She's also driven in seven RBIs, good for third on the squad. Rabuck has five multi-hit games this season, and was a combined 3-for-7 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a double against SUNY Delhi.
 
Jess Lepore is hitting .267 on the season, and has twelve total hits, good for fourth on the team. Lepore has a double and a triple this year, and is second on the team with ten runs scored. She leads the Nittany Lions with five walks and nine stolen bases, and she's driven in five runs this year. Lepore has four multi-hit games this season, and went a combined 2-for-6 with four runs scored, two steals, and a walk against SUNY Delhi on Tuesday.
 
Rebecca Baum is hitting .286 this year, and has ten total hits for the Nittany Lions this season. Baum has a pair of doubles and a homer, and has six RBIs on the year. She's slugging at .429 this season. Baum has three multi-hit games, and has recorded a hit in her last four games. She was a combined 4-for-6 with three RBIs, two runs scored, a double and a homer against SUNY Delhi.  
 
McKayla Wildrick is hitting .303 this year, and also has ten total hits for the Nittany Lions. Wildrick has just one extra base hit, a double, so far this year, and has yet to drive in a run. Wildrick has two multi-hit games, and was a combined 1-for-5 with one run scored against SUNY Delhi on Tuesday.
 
Rebecca Baum is the main hurler for the Nittany Lions, having made nine appearances, four starts, and going 2-2 with a 4.24 ERA this year. Baum, in her 34.2 innings of work, has allowed 35 runs, 21 earned, on 60 hits, while striking out a team-high 23 batters. Baum got the win in her last start, the second game against SUNY Delhi, going five innings and giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits, while striking out two in the 11-3 win. She has hit her season-high of four strikeouts twice this season.  
 
Cassidy Lentz has appeared in eight games, but has started a team-high six contests, going 2-4 with a 9.60 ERA this year. Lentz, in 23.1 innings of work, has given up 36 runs, 32 earned, on 39 hits, while striking out 15 batters, but walking 16 so far this year. She's given up four homeruns on the year. Lentz got the win in game one against SUNY Delhi on Tuesday, going six innings and giving up just the one run on four hits, while striking out a season-high five batters in a 9-1 victory.
 
The head coach for Penn State Hazleton is Jeff Tomb, now in his second year at the helm for the Nittany Lions. Tomb was announced as the new head coach last year, in February, after spending time as an assistant in the Williamsport, and then Wilkes-Barre areas. Tomb started his coaching career at his alma mater, Jersey Shore HS, as an assistant coach, before moving on to Penn College in Williamsport. There, he helped the Wildcats to the PSUAC championship, and helped them transition to NCAA DIII. After his time at Penn, he went to Wilkes University to be an assistant hitting coach with the Colonels. Tomb left the Colonels with the pandemic in 2020, and eventually landed at Penn State Hazleton. He is a combined 20-19 in his brief career at PSU Hazleton.
 
About Monroe College



The Mustangs come into Thursday's doubleheader with a 4-19 overall record, having lost their last six games. In fact, their two losses at home to Lackawanna College two weeks ago started their slide. The Mustangs were last in action against Harford CC this past Monday, losing a pair of close games to the Fighting Owls. In game one, the Mustangs held an 8-7 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh, but Harford scored two runs to walk off with a 9-8 win. In game two, Harford scored eight runs in the first three innings to build a lead that Monroe couldn't recover from, as the Mustangs fell 12-7.
 
As a team, the Mustangs are hitting .314 on the season, and have an OPS of .826 so far this year. Monroe is averaging around six runs per game, and have hit 52 combined extra base hits, including 28 doubles and 19 homeruns. They're slugging around .464 on the year, and have successfully stolen 43 bases on the season. The Mustangs have 122 strikeouts as a team, and have drawn 42 walks so far this season.
 
In the pitching circle, the Mustangs have an 8.05 ERA. In 141.2 innings pitched, Monroe has given up 224 runs on 276 hits, 163 earned runs, and struck out 60 batters, while walking 80. Opponents are averaging .387 against the Mustangs this year, and have hit 52 doubles. Monroe has turned eight double plays on the year, and has committed 68 errors this season.   
 
Thanysha Gil leads the Mustangs with a .476 batting average this season. Gil leads the team in OPS (1.437), hits (30), doubles (9), extra base hits (15), RBIs (26), slugging (.889), walks (9), and OBP (.548). Gil also leads the team in total bases (56), and has also scored 21 runs on the year. Gil has nine multi-hit games this year, and was a combined 5-for-7 with four RBIs, four runs scored, and three homers in the two games against Lackawanna College. Gil went 2-for-6 with three runs scored, an RBI, and two doubles against Harford. 
 
Miralba Sandez is second on the team with a .389 batting average so far this year. Sandez is second on the squad with a 1.042 OPS, and her .431 OBP is also good for second on the team. Sandez is third on the team in slugging (.611) and is tied for third on the team in total bases (33). She's hit four homers, good for third on the team. Sandez was 2-for-7 with a homer, an RBI, and two runs scored against Lackawanna College earlier this year. Sandez was held without a hit, going 0-for-5 in the two games against Harford.
 
Nevaeh Gaynor is third on the Mustangs with a .388 batting average this season. She's tied for second on the team with 26 hits, and is third on the team with 16 runs scored so far this season. Gaynor has ten RBIs this season, and has a .820 OPS on the year. Gaynor's .417 OBP is second on the team, and she is also second on Monroe with six stolen bases this year. Gaynor did not play in the doubleheader two weeks ago against Lackawanna College, and she was a combined 3-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored against Harford.
 
Mya Jack is fourth on the team with a .347 batting average, and is second on the team with 20 runs scored so far this season. Jack is the biggest base stealing threat, leading Monroe with 17 swipes on the year, and is tied for second on the squad with Gaynor at 26 total hits so far this year. Jack has recorded a hit in eight straight games, and has eight multi-hit games this year. In the two games against Lackawanna, Jack was a combined 3-for-6 with a run scored and an RBI. She went 2-for-8 in the two games against Harford on Tuesday, with two runs scored.
 
Zoe Rivera, batting at .268 so far this year, leads the team with six homeruns, and is second on the squad with 16 RBIs. Rivera is fifth on the team with 19 hits, and is third on the team with 18 runs scored this season. Rivera has a .878 OPS, and is slugging at .549, good for third on the team. Rivera does lead the team in strikeouts, however, with 19 punch outs on the year. Rivera was a combined 1-for-6 with two runs scored against Lackawanna College in two games, and she was 0-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in two games against Harford.  
 
Asia Gonzalez leads Monroe with 17 appearances, eight starts, and is 2-5 with an 8.02 ERA. In her team-high 48.0 innings pitched, Gonzalez has given up 62 runs, 55 earned, on 93 hits, while striking out a team-best 27 batters. Opponents are hitting .391 against Gonzalez so far this season. Gonzalez got the loss in her last start, the first game against Harford, where she went 6.2 innings and gave up nine runs, eight earned, while striking out six batters. She had to do five innings of relief pitching in game two against the Fighting Owls, giving up five runs, all earned, on seven hits, while walking four batters.
 
Angelina Perez has made five starts in 14 appearances, going 2-2 so far this season with a 6.89 ERA. She's pitched in 40.2 innings, giving up 63 runs, 40 earned, on 74 hits. Perez has 19 strikeouts on the year, while walking 13 batters. Opponents are averaging .368 at the plate against Perez this year. Perez has not pitched since her appearance against Lackawanna College, where she gave up 13 runs on 14 hits in five innings, in a 13-4 win for the Falcons.
 
Hilda Sanchez has appeared in twelve games, starting five, and is 0-7 on the year with a 7.95 ERA. Sanchez has gone 23 innings so far this year, giving up 41 runs, 28 earned, on 55 hits, while striking out five batters and walking 14. Opponents are hitting .430 against Sanchez so far this season. Sanchez hasn't pitched since April 3^rd, where she went just 0.2 innings of work in a start against Harford, where she gave up three runs on five hits, and got tagged with a loss.  
 
The head softball coach for Monroe is Samantha Santillo, now in her fourth season in charge of the Mustangs. Santillo came to Monroe after three seasons at Pittsburgh's North Catholic HS, advancing to the second round of the WPIAL playoffs in her final year in charge. She has spent time in travel organizations in Pennsylvania, coaching catchers at the AAU and youth levels. Santillo graduated from Robert Morris in 2015, where she played all four years for the Colonials, winning the Golden Glove on three separate occasions as the Northeast Conference Defensive POTY. She was an all-conference first team catcher, and a two-time POTW for the NEC. Santillo set school records in career putouts, career fielding percentage, and single-season fielding percentage. Santillo is 33-49 in her career at Monroe.
 
 
Game Information
The doubleheader against Penn State Hazleton is set for Wednesday, April 13^th, with the first game happening at 2:00pm ET, and the second following at 4:00pm ET. There is no video livestream available for either game.
 
The Thursday, April 14^th doubleheader against Monroe will take place at Scranton High's Softball Field, and is set for a 4:00pm ET start, with the second following at 6:00pm ET. Both games will be streamed live via the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel, at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.   
 
These two doubleheaders mark the first two days of a four-day, eight-game stretch for the Falcons. Their next match-up is their Region XIX opener, when they travel to Georgetown, DE to take on the Delaware Tech CC Terry Hawks. That doubleheader is set to start at 1:00pm ET, and the second game will follow at 3:00pm ET.